An uncomfortable silence filled the space again, as they awkwardly regarded one another.

‘Did I perhaps do something wrong? I think I did it properly, just as I’d been taught…’ Kael panicked. This was his first time escorting a woman outside of his family, so he was confused by Irene’s lack of reaction. After taking a moment to reflect on the problem, he took a couple steps forward and said, “Um, this way.” When Irene followed after him, he vaguely realized that Irene had likely never been escorted by a man before.

‘I definitely should’ve wiped them all out,’ Kael inwardly cursed, as he reached to pull out a chair for Irene. Unfortunately, Irene had also reached out for the chair. Their hands unintentionally bumped up against each other, causing them to freeze in place. Both fell silent again, though this time the corners of their mouths both twitched from the sense of déjà vu.

“Sit down.”

“Please sit down.”

When they both suggested the same thing to each other, another stretch of silence emerged between them.

‘Didn’t he come this way to sit down?’ Irene thought, puzzled. While it was natural for men to escort ladies, Irene had never experienced anything of the like in her life. Rather, it’d been her duty to escort the crown prince while she served as a knight in the royal castle. Irene had intended to do the same for Kael, since he was heading towards the same place as her.

“Lady Irene, how about you take this seat?”

“After you. Your Highness is the crown prince.”

“In Perkan, the lady comes first. Is it not like that in Theorin?”

Unable to respond, Irene’s eyes quivered in response to his question. ‘Come to think of it…’ With some embarrassment, she realized that Theorin shared this same custom. Wordlessly, she sat down on the chair that Kael pulled out for her.

“Firstly, I’d like to express my apologies. The lady’s reputation was greatly affected by last night’s events—it was a big mistake on our part,” Kael said, as he bowed his head politely.

Irene was astonished because she never would’ve imagined the empire’s crown prince would bow his head to someone who was nothing more than a glorified hostage. “No… I apologize,” Irene replied haltingly.

“There’s no reason for you to apologize, my lady. Rather, I’m more apologetic that you may face even more troublesome matters because of it. I’ve instructed everyone involved to keep their mouths shut, but since this wasn’t a small matter… I’m sorry.” The rumor that Kael, who hadn’t succumbed before even the most beautiful women of the empire, spent the night with Irene had spread throughout the imperial palace like wildfire. His attempts to refute the rumor would be futile and even though nothing had transpired, the spotlight and the empire’s attention were now fixed on Irene.

“What do you mean by troublesome matters?”

“From the moment I was designated as the crown prince, the subject of who’ll be the crown princess has been a topic that has captivated everyone’s interest.”

“Oh, that’s fine. I’ve already experienced something similar back in my kingdom and overcame it without any issues,” Irene replied in a relaxed tone.

“Then, I won’t feel too apologetic about it.” Kael’s gaze sharpened and his tone came out colder than he’d intended when he recalled what he’d learned about Irene’s ex-fiancés earlier that day. His simmering rage threatened to bubble to the surface again, fueled by the subtle jealousy he felt towards those two men. However, when he noticed Irene subtly frown at his frigid tone, he quickly fixed his expression.

Clearing his throat, Kael attempted to feign normalcy and asked, “How’s your stay here in Perkan? Are you adapting well?”